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Project Happy

Being happy is underrated, and believe me, I would know.

This past year has been a whirlwind of emotions. Changes are happening left, right and center; relationships starting up and falling apart, and then starting up again, probably only to fall apart, once again. But regardless of all of the crappy, horrible things happening, I’m still trying desperately to find the silver lining in all of it. I know it’s there, but there are days where finding the ‘happy’ of it all seems nearly impossible.

That’s why I’ve learned to make my own happy.

I’ve started doing little things – at least one or two a day – that make me smile, even if only a little bit. While they may be small, mindless, and irrelevant to some, they often change my mood entirely. I like to call this, “Project Happy”.

Here are five things that make me happy.

Put on some lipstick.
Before I leave the house, even if I barely put any makeup on that day, I make sure I apply some lipstick. It’s a very small thing that brightens my day. It changes my entire outlook – the brighter it is, the happier I feel. I carry around a few different shades in my purse

Color some pictures.
Adult coloring books are all the rage these days, and there’s something so relaxing about filling patterns in with different colors and shades. The more color I use, the better the photo looks, and the more I take pride in my work. It’s something silly, but it reminds me of being young and carefree – it reminds me of when I was happy.

Get ready for the day.
Even if you’re not doing anything or going anywhere, getting out of your pyjamas and into some comfy ‘around the house’ clothes changes your entire mood. Pyjamas – regardless of how comfortable they may be – give you that lazy feeling, but once you wash your face, make some coffee, and put on different clothes, you feel like a completely different person. I found that this helps with productivity, too; I tend to get way more done when I get ready for the day – it’s a complete mind shift.

Write in a journal/diary.
This doesn’t have to happen every day, nor does it have to be an epic entry – sometimes I just write about what I did that day, or an event that happened that made me smile. It’s nice to keep track of these things, so even when I feel like I have nothing to be happy about that day, I can go back and re-read things from other days. Of course, there are negative things and a whole butt-load of feelings written in there, but reflection comes in both positive and negative waves, so take the bad with a grain of salt and smile for the good.

Tell yourself you’re beautiful.
Next time you’re feeling a little down and you walk by a mirror or a store window, stop and smile, and remind yourself that you are beautiful. If beautiful isn’t the way you want to describe yourself that day, tell yourself you’re smokin’ hot, adorably cute, undeniably goodlooking – whatever positive words come to mind work. It may seem silly, but I guarantee that you’ll smile and feel just a little bit better.

The lesson here is that every negative has a positive. There is a silver lining to everything, you just have to search for it. It may be buried deep inside of a whole load of negativity, but it’s there.